Dewey Beach council clarifies rule barring pools from required front-yard setback, approves fence-height limit

The Dewey Beach Town Council voted April 17 to adopt an ordinance clarifying that accessory swimming pools and pool fences may not occupy the required front-yard setback, restoring language council members said reflected the town’s original 1983 zoning intent.

The vote followed a public hearing in which north-end residents urged the council to guard neighborhood character and warned that front-yard pools would amplify noise and privacy impacts. Cindy Souza, a full-time resident of West Street, told the council she gathered 42 signatures opposing front-yard pools and said she had checked neighboring jurisdictions and found none that permit such pools.

Marca, a Zoom commenter who said her staff surveyed five northernmost streets, told council members her team documented more than 100 apparent violations of section 185-51A — including fences and hedges taller than 3.5 feet on or near front property lines — and urged the town to address enforcement first rather than changing standards. David Mosquitz, a resident, asked the council to consider separate treatment for multifamily and condominium developments so shared amenity pools remain feasible for those complexes.

Town legal staff and commissioners repeatedly said the draft ordinance is intended as a clarification: it prevents pools from occupying the required front-yard setback (the ‘‘setback’’ defined in zoning tables) but does not prohibit a pool from existing in the front of a lot so long as it sits outside the required setback and complies with fence and egress requirements. Commissioners noted the wording change restores the word they say was omitted decades ago and argued the change returns the code to its original meaning.

Commissioner Persinger, who moved approval, said the amendment ‘‘clarifies what was originally intended’’ and resolves a typographical error that crept into the code. Commissioner Bower and others said the change applies going forward and will not retroactively legalize preexisting nonconforming features built before the town’s zoning code.

The motion passed with four in favor and one abstention. Commissioners said the town will continue to consider whether separate treatments are needed for condominium and townhouse developments and whether enforcement capacity should be increased to address existing violations.

The ordinance now reads that swimming pools may not occupy the required front yard setback and reiterates that no fence or wall exceeding 3.5 feet shall enclose any portion of the yard located within that setback. Council members emphasized that existing, legally nonconforming fences and structures (many dating from mid-century construction) were not the target of the change; the ordinance clarifies future development and permitting.

The council’s next steps include potential follow-up work by planning and zoning staff on whether to apply different rules to multifamily complexes and how to sequence enforcement for existing violations.